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Iranian Airline to Purchase 30 Boeing Jets

April 04, 2017 8:44 AM

VOA News

LE -- In this March 7, 2017 file photo, the first of the large Boeing 737 MAX 9 models, Boeing's newest commercial airplane, sits outside its production plant, in Renton, Wash. Boeing Co. announced Tuesday, April 4, 2017 that it has signed a new, $3 billion deal with Iran's Aseman Airlines for 30 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.

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Iranian Airline to Purchase 30 Boeing Jets

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The U.S. plane maker Boeing said Tuesday it agreed to sell 30 of its 737 MAX jets to Iran's Aseman Airlines, a deal worth $3 billion.

The sale marks the second such Boeing deal made possible by the 2015 nuclear agreement signed by former U.S. president Barack Obama to relieve sanctions on the Middle Eastern country. IranAir struck a $16.6 billion deal with the company in December for 80 planes.

"Boeing confirms the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement with Iran Aseman Airlines, expressing the airline's intent to purchase 30 Boeing 737 MAX airplanes with a list price value of $3 billion,” the plane maker said in a statement. “The agreement also provides the airline with purchase rights for 30 additional 737 MAXs.”

Aseman Airlines is scheduled to start receiving the aircraft in 2022, though the deal is still contingent on approval from the U.S. government.

The nuclear agreement limited Iran’s nuclear capabilities in exchange for the lifting of international economic sanctions. U.S. President Donald Trump heavily criticized the deal during his election campaign and has said he would like to see in renegotiated.

Aseman Airlines flies both domestic and international flights from Iran. The European Union banned the airline in December, citing safety concerns.